CENTURION HAMILTON
Lewis claims 100th pole
LEWIS HAMILTON has cracked it in the wet, in the dry, in the dark. Yesterday, in suitably approving Spanish sunshine, he recorded the 100th pole position of his career.
No fans, alas, were here at the Circuit de Catalunya to witness Formula One’s only single- lap centurion reach his landmark. But he hugged his trainer, Angela Cullen, and high-fived a line of team-mates sharing in his moment of jubilation.
‘I’m ecstatic, like it’s my first,’ he said. Yes, Hamilton has been doing this routinely since June 9, 2007, when in Montreal, next to the Olympic rowing lake, he grabbed his first pole position as a 22-yearold McLaren driver in only his sixth race.
That feat, alongside securing podiums in each of his opening nine grands prix — perhaps still his most remarkable statement — was a precursor to all the history that he has come to write.
His haul of 100 poles dwarfs everyone who has ever turned a wheel. It is almost Bradman-esque in its dominance, to borrow from cricket’s lexicon. Next on the list comes Michael Schumacher with 68 poles and then his boyhood idol Ayrton Senna with 65.
Hamilton, aged 36, now has two more poles to his name than Jim Clark, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell combined — and they won seven world titles between them. Of course, Hamilton’s Mercedes machinery has given him every chance to romp away in recent years, but rarely has he squandered the opportunity. His dedication to the task remains entirely undiminished, and so often he has built his pace steadily through practice and then the early stages of qualifying to reach an untouchable crescendo during the final lap of a Saturday afternoon.
This time, though, it was the first — and clinical — lap of Q3 that inflicted the killer blow on Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Hamilton, who was anxious about changes made to his car before qualifying, went 0.036sec faster than the Dutchman, with Valtteri Bottas, in the other Mercedes, third fastest. That is how it stayed after they all failed to improve with their final sorties, and pole No 100 was up.
Hamilton was beaming after his day’s work was complete.
‘I don’t think I can compute it,’ he said. ‘It is such a big number. I don’t know how I am meant to feel. Who would have thought when I made the decision to join with Mercedes that we would be qualifying at 100? It has been a dream to work with these guys. They keep raising the bar. So I feel very humble and very grateful.’
Watching on was Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, coowner of the Mercedes team, who will have a big say in any new contract his star driver may seek.
It is difficult to pick the best from so many Hamilton poles in a 15-season career, but three jump straight to mind. Monza in 2017, a session that dragged on for three hours as rain pelted down. He held his concentration to finish 1.1sec ahead of Verstappen and 2.3sec in front of Bottas. That day he passed Schumacher’s then pole record, and punched the air.
Singapore the following season, a ‘stardust’ lap as boss Toto Wolff rightly called it. And last year at the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria, he was a man apart, again surefootedly brilliant in the wet.
Even his old sparring partner Fernando Alonso chimed in with praise last night. ‘Now Red Bull are very close sometimes and he does not let that influence him.’
This pole makes Hamilton firm favourite to extend his winning sequence on a 2.9-mile track with few overtaking possibilities and where he has won in all of the past four seasons. He is gunning for win No 98, then on to the next ton.
PRESSURE is mounting on UEFA to move the Champions League final to Wembley, with crunch talks this week amid fears over the potential ‘catastrophic consequences’ of holding the match in Istanbul.
Time is running out to change the venue for the showpiece game between Chelsea and Manchester City on May 29 but UEFA’s plans for fans to attend were thrown into turmoil when Turkey was added to the UK’s red list for travel due to the wave of infections in the country.
UEFA would insist on Wembley as the venue if the match is to be moved but the odds remain against the decision unless there is a breakthrough in talks between the UK Government and Europe’s governing body tomorrow.
English fans and media would have to isolate for 10 days on return to t he UK at a Government approved hotel at personal cost of £1,750.
‘From a health perspective, it is ludicrous to have the Champions League final in Istanbul,’ Chelsea Supporters’ Trust spokesman Dan Silver told The Mail on Sunday.
‘It is reckless to expect 10,000 supporters to fly out, not to mention the ones who would travel anyway. We have all fought really hard for over a year to come through this pandemic and if 10,000 or more come back with anything, the consequences could be catastrophic. It’s crazy.
‘A better venue has to be chosen. There needs to be pressure from authorities to move it back to the UK, not just for the fans but also the greater health of the country.’
It is understood that players would be exempt from the strict quarantine rules on their return — a relief for England manager Gareth Southgate, whose opening European Championship game is just 15 days after the Champions League final.
The EFL indicated yesterday they were open to the play-off finals being moved from Wembley the same weekend. It would not be the first time EFL play-offs have made way for the Champions League final. When Wembley hosted the 2011 final, the League One and Two play-off finals moved to Old Trafford.
However, several hurdles have yet to be cleared if there is a switch to Wembley. Though Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the country would be ready if UEFA asked, the Government remain mindful it is a decision for the European governing body. UEFA had planned for 24,000 spectators at Istanbul, with at least 4,000 tickets each going to City and Chelsea respectively.
Under Government rules, Wembley could only host 10,000. If, like the FA Cup final the week before, it were deemed a test event, it could host 21,000 or even more, which would be a prerequisite for UEFA to agree to a change. Compensation would have t o be agreed for
Istanbul. UEFA will be under pressure to change the venue, given president Aleksander Ceferin’s praise of English fans for helping to stop the Super League breakaway.
Mr Johnson said: ‘The Champions League is the pinnacle of European club football — and with two English teams contesting the final, it would be a great shame if fans were unable to attend. It would be brilliant to host the game here.’